Horror Dexter - Part 6

[Octoberist]

Yeah it felt like there's something missing with his character, and now he's just floating by from season to season.

 

[Visceral]

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Okay, the series had some glaring plot holes. The biggest in the final series was Hannah not trying to disguise herself when her picture had been all over the media as a top fugitive. I mean, she is drop-dead gorgeous and 95% of men would certainly look twice and try to look a third time if she was spotted in public. So, to me anyway, this distracted me greatly from the plot.

I really believe also that Dexter's dark passenger had left him by the time that he kills Oliver Saxon. This was not his inner need working in him anymore, just a simple act of revenge. No madness here. His demons had no part in this execution.

And the end, with the lumberjack scene, yes Dexter is a shell still waiting to see if his dark entity has completely gone so that he can if he wants return to society somewhere and start again. The last thing that he wants is to reinsert himself into the life of his son and Hannah if he is still 'sick.'

Or could Dexter still be a character who can be used to exact revenge on the evil men in the world without being driven to do it by dark urges? Could that be an interesting idea for a follow up series? Probably not - that would just be another series that has plots that have already been used.

.

no, he will never reinsert himself into their lives. he grew a conscience and then exacted a punishment on himself. The logical conclusion of such a man who lives by a code.

 

[Reek]

*survives hurricane*

 

[Doctor Jones]

So I finished season 4 a couple days ago. After a terrific first season, season two was a step down while season 3 while an improvement, still lacked what made the show so appealing in the first place. And season 4 just knocked it out of the ****ing park with everything.

So I hear from season 5 onward it's down hill from here. How true is this because the next four seasons air on Netflix soon and I'm too curious to know what happens next for Dexter, especially how season 4 ended.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Most people will say yes, but I also don't think many people will say season 2 was a step down, much less that season 3 was anything close to improvement.

For me, I thought season 5 was alright. It was sort of a retread of season 3 is some ways, just with a different context. Season 6 is butt, just butt. I like season 7 a good deal. The final season starts out alright, but quickly descends into it's own madness.

 

[Doctor Jones]

But is it worth watching?

 

[Tron Bonne]

Oh sorry, I thought what I said conveyed how I felt. I see now that wasn't so clear.

Well, personally, I would go away and say...yes. But you might want to keep the expectations of what you see tepid. The series post-season 4 doesn't get flack for no reason, but I still found it all pretty watchable. I even found season 7 to be a bit of a return to form in a lot of ways.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Well, okay, not to contradict myself or anything, but thinking about it's sort of in line with how I recommend Weeds to people. If you're only looking for the best of the show, then stop at season 3 (or season 4, for Dexter). It's not that the rest of it is bad or unwatchable per say, but that is the prime of the series, and it shows as it continues.

But if you liked the characters enough, and you're invested, I don't feel like the quality of the show got so bad that it wasn't worth watching. It depends on whether or not you are okay with the quality dropping to a point that's it's not as good as it once was, even if that doesn't necessarily mean it gets bad.

 

[Doctor Jones]

That's pretty helpful actually. Because I also got Buffy to watch as well and my winter break so I was hoping to have a show or two to keep me occupied before break ends. But yeah, given how season four ended I was pretty invested and curious to see what happens next. How suddenly he gets sucked out of the domestic life, which was one of my favorite things of season four.

But... I miss Doakes.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Well I just finished season 5 which I quite liked and enjoyed more than season 2 and 3. I can see where it can be a retread of season 3, but I enjoyed this season more. I wasn't overly fond of Miguel anyway. I liked the focus of seeing Dexter trying to save someone instead of killing someone. And his whole relationship with Lumen I bought.

And Peter Weller. Peter Weller makes everything better.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Yeah, I enjoyed season 5, too. I kind of see where a lot of people didn't, but I never felt it was as bad as people made it out to be.

 

[Doctor Jones]

It wasn't bad at all actually. I thought it worked pretty well.

Now I just finished season six and... ****. That wasn't good. Nebraska had to be the worst episode I've ever seen. Everything from the subtle as a sledgehammer religious themes, the cartoonish and goofy Olmos, and just some stupid **** all around made me think what they **** they were on.

There were some good ideas. Colin Hanks interested me, but they squandered it. The whole time it should have been Hanks by himself trying to balance the good and bad inside him. Someone you can sympathize with and despise would have been very cool. But nuh-ah. It all came off as a stupid gimmick. Dexter undergoing a question of faith was such a waste of time.

 

[hellblazer103]

i was digging season 5 up until the end of it . that was just terrible. that was the point where i saw the beginning of this show's descent into crap.

 

[O'Haire]

I really liked season 5. But they ****ed it up by not having Deb find out about Dexter in the finale even though it was set up so perfectly.

Only seasons I hated were 6 and 8. Just so bad.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Yeah, I will agree that Deb should've found out at the end of that season. That was dumb how they side stepped that.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I agree. It was a much more shocking set up than her just being shoved in there at the end of season six. Save for a few threads, one can easily pretend season six never happened.

 

[Doctor Jones]

So I just started season 8... if I got through season 6 and what I heard about this, at least there's the intrigue of finding out what happens at the end to look forward to.

 

[Tron Bonne]

I don't think 8 is as bad as 6, but it's not good. What'd you think of season 7?

 

[O'Haire]

8 is one of the worst seasons of TV I've ever seen. All the characters turned into complete morons.

 

[Prison Mike]

Season 8 wasn't that bad. I personally would have gone in a different direction but it wasn't the worst piece of television that I have ever seen.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Yeah, I agree. There's a lot of hyperbole surrounding how bad the last season was. Not to say I think it was that good, but it started out okay before it slipped up.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I don't think 8 is as bad as 6, but it's not good. What'd you think of season 7?

I loved season 7 and it's one of my favorites. That more than made up for season 6. You can tell they wanted to cool off of the silliness of the last season and focused it to be less gimmicky and more real. Ray Stevenson was excellent.

Yeah, I agree. There's a lot of hyperbole surrounding how bad the last season was. Not to say I think it was that good, but it started out okay before it slipped up.

Season 8 wasn't horrible. It wasn't season 6 bad. It was just eh, and unremarkable. **** should have hit the ****ing fan. They missed so many opportunities to really make things exciting for it to go into final season mode.

I would have actually liked to have seen Deb opt to kill Dexter and follow through after she drove them into the lake. Dexter escapes and thus begins the manhunt. Instead they wasted time on stuff we already know and additions that weren't that exciting. The ultimate antagonist should have been his very own sister in the end. Not another serial killer. Vogel was bland, but at least the Zach thing wasn't dragged out. I literally was groaning when Vogel and Saxon were just talking after they ate breakfast. Really? You have a precious few episodes left and this is how you're spending it? I hate to say, but going the Breaking Bad route would have been a much better idea. Except this would be more intense since he's a serial killer.

Now I didn't hate the finale. It was more in the execution. I love the idea of Deb as Dexter's final victim and he having to go into exile. That end point always made sense to me. Was a happy ending out of the question absolutely not, but I liked that he banished himself to atone for what he has caused.

Now I definitely think there are more possibilities for another season. I can see it. Many years later, Dexter coming out of hiding to track down a serial killer specifically out to kill him and who kills Hannah, which would negate the why of Dexter exiling himself. This also puts his son in danger, all the more reason to come out of hiding, while he also worries that his son could have grown to be just like him.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Who would participate in the manhunt? Obviously Miamo Metro is not going to travel up to snowy Fargo or wherever the hell Lumberjack Dexter ended up. So it'd be a bunch of nameless FBI goons chasing after silent, moody Lumberjack Dexter sans everybody from his old series and sans his sunny Florida setting. And that's the premise before Scott Buck worked his magic. Sorry, but this has "oye vey" written all over it.

See my post above. You could definitely do a miniseries on it. I'd have to be many years later. A way for Dexter to come out of his exile is that very reason for it to be undone. Hannah dying and his son being in danger, with a serial killer drawing him into a deadly game. Perhaps Quinn who is now an FBI Agent, comes back and finds him and the two go on some journey of having to track this killer down. I like the idea of two characters who never liked each other in need of one another. But you could also play with the idea of Quinn wrestling with the urge to actually kill Dexter, ending it where Debra should have. There could be a really great arc for the both of them.

And of course, with his son now at the age of possibly exhibiting psychotic traits, you can have Dexter worrying about that.

Perhaps something could bring him back to sunny Florida?

I wouldn't even return it to Miami. I actually like the idea of seeing Dexter in a colder place getting caught up in a new problem.

I mean if people want a happy ending, what if he literally became America's Favorite Serial Killer? If his secret did get out, what if America actually lauded what he was doing? It's more bittersweet than anything.

 

[Tron Bonne]

I loved season 7 and it's one of my favorites. That more than made up for season 6. You can tell they wanted to cool off of the silliness of the last season and focused it to be less gimmicky and more real. Ray Stevenson was excellent.

Glad you enjoyed it. You often don't hear much about that season, but I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a real return to form for the show after season 6.

Season 8 wasn't horrible. It wasn't season 6 bad. It was just eh, and unremarkable. **** should have hit the ****ing fan. They missed so many opportunities to really make things exciting for it to go into final season mode.

I would have actually liked to have seen Deb opt to kill Dexter and follow through after she drove them into the lake. Dexter escapes and thus begins the manhunt. Instead they wasted time on stuff we already know and additions that weren't that exciting. The ultimate antagonist should have been his very own sister in the end. Not another serial killer. Vogel was bland, but at least the Zach thing wasn't dragged out. I literally was groaning when Vogel and Saxon were just talking after they ate breakfast. Really? You have a precious few episodes left and this is how you're spending it? I hate to say, but going the Breaking Bad route would have been a much better idea. Except this would be more intense since he's a serial killer.

Now I didn't hate the finale. It was more in the execution. I love the idea of Deb as Dexter's final victim and he having to go into exile. That end point always made sense to me. Was a happy ending out of the question absolutely not, but I liked that he banished himself to atone for what he has caused.

Now I definitely think there are more possibilities for another season. I can see it. Many years later, Dexter coming out of hiding to track down a serial killer specifically out to kill him and who kills Hannah, which would negate the why of Dexter exiling himself. This also puts his son in danger, all the more reason to come out of hiding, while he also worries that his son could have grown to be just like him.

Big missed opportunity is a good way of putting it all, I agree. Season 8 was less so bad as that to me. It never felt like a final season even up until the very end.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Yeah, it never felt like, "This is the end, we better kick things into high gear." It just felt like another season that meandered.